"There is still time to adjust FMLA policies, but one aspect of a typical FMLA policy might require prompt attention: the method for calculating the 12-month period applicable to an employee's leave entitlement. Most employers use the 'rolling look-back' method, but this option is not available under the PFMLL. If an employer wishes to change its FMLA policy to align with the PFMLL in this area the employer must bear in mind that FMLA regulations require 60 days' notice to employees before making a change."

"Cannabis employers in the state of Oregon will be required to offer their employees a retirement savings program to save in, regardless of how many employees they have -- whether it be one or 100."

"[A]ll New York State employers will now have to provide NYPSL to their employees.... [L]arge employers in New York City and Westchester County may have to increase the amount of sick/safe time that they provide. Unlike New York State's paid sick/quarantine leave legislation, which was passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ... the NYPSL requirement addresses a different and broader range of covered reasons for taking sick leave and has permanent effect."

"[S]tarting September 30, 2020, employees in the state of New York will begin accruing sick leave at a rate of at least one hour for every 30 hours worked. We are still awaiting guidance from the State on key issues, such as coordination with the New York City and Westchester County sick leave laws, the impact of frontloading leave on carryover, and managing sick leave during the last quarter of 2020."

"The temporary expansion of the DC Family and Medical Leave Act to provide D.C. employees up to 16 weeks of unpaid, job-protected 'COVID-19 leave' has been extended through October 9, 2020. The D.C. Office of Human Rights has published an updated notice reflecting the extended effective date, which employers 'must post and maintain ... in a conspicuous place and transmit it to employees working remotely.' ... [S]hould the Mayor extend the declared COVID-19 public health emergency beyond October 9, 2020, this leave expansion will likely be extended again."

Article includes a summary table of CFRA before and after SB 1383 amendments, which are effective January 1, 2021.

"Hawaii requires that plans covering individuals in the state be approved for issue in the state.... [E]mployees in Hawaii may need to be subject to different eligibility terms than employees in the continental US.... [The Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act (PHC)] requires that employee-only coverage cannot cost the employee more than 1.5% of the employee's monthly wages.... [T]he PHC also requires employers to contribute at least 50% towards the cost of coverage."

"The new law requires California employers with as few as five employees to provide family and medical leave to their employees effective January 1, 2021. SB 1383 also expands the scope of 'family members' for whom employees can take leave and the protected reasons for taking leave."

"Employers outside the food sector are required to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (CSPSL) as of September 19, 2020 ... For food sector workers, the leave requirement is retroactive to April 16, 2020 ... The CSPSL provisions expire on December 31, 2020 or the expiration of the FFCRA (including any extension); whichever is later."

"The CFRA will apply to much smaller employers -- those with five or more employees (down from 50, or 20 employees for new parent leave).... [T]he new law eliminates the requirement that employees work within 75 miles of a worksite.... AB 1867 also immediately established supplemental COVID-19 paid sick leave for private employers with 500 or more employees anywhere in the nation, as well as public and private employers of first responders and health care employees who opted out of the leave under the federal law."

"[A]ll employees in New York State will be entitled to between 40 and 56 hours of annual sick leave.... For employers choosing to allow employees to accrue sick leave based on time worked, accrued sick leave must be tracked as of September 30. But, because employees cannot use the accrued time before January 1, 2021, employers must permit employees to carry their 2020 accruals into the new year."

"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor Phil Kenney signed ... an amendment to the city's generally applicable paid sick and safe time law ... [which] requires new public health emergency leave for employees, gig workers, and others who do not receive leave under the federal [FFCRA]. The emergency leave requirements take effect immediately, but generally will expire on December 31, 2020....[Effective on September 9, an additional amendment requires] compensation and medical care or reimbursement for certain healthcare employees who contract a disease during a declared pandemic or epidemic."

"California employers with as few as five employees must provide family and medical leave rights to their employees under a new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 17, 2020. The new law significantly expands the state's existing family and medical leave entitlements and goes into effect on January 1, 2021."

"When do I have to give employees leave under the new law? ... How do I have to pay for the new COVID-19 leave? ... But what if I already provided COVID-19 paid sick leave? ... Food sector employees.... Update Wage Statements/Written Notice.... Enforcement.... What else should employers do now?"

"Senate Bill 1383 expands [the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)] to apply to employers with five or more employees, and expands the scope of 'family members' for whom employees can take leave to include many additional categories. It will go into effect on January 1, 2021 ... [B]ecause SB 1383 now expands the definition of 'family member' under the CFRA in a manner inconsistent with the definition under the federal FMLA, the two laws are no longer in sync. This creates the unfortunate situation in which an employee is eligible for 12 weeks of leave under the CFRA but remains eligible for a full additional 12 weeks under the FMLA."

"The bill will broaden the scope of Philadelphia's Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces sick leave law by providing paid 'public health emergency leave' to more people who work within the geographic boundaries of the city, including individuals workings for companies with 500 or more employees, independent contractors and 'gig economy' workers."

"On January 1, 2021, the amount of employee contributions, the number of weeks of leave and benefits, and the amount of weekly benefits granted under the program are scheduled to increase. This will be the last of three annual increases in weekly benefits.... [T]he employee payroll contribution toward NYPFL also will be adjusted on January 1, 2021 to 0.511% of an employee's gross wages each pay period, capped at a maximum annual contribution of $385.34."

"Employers who already provided supplemental paid leave for the reasons related to AB 1867's covered reasons ... may count those hours toward the required amount of CSPSL hours under AB 1867. However, compensation for any qualifying supplemental paid leave provided to the employee must have been greater than, or equal to, the amount of compensation the employee would have received under AB 1867."

"San Francisco recently released its updated contribution requirement for 2021.... The ordinance applies to any employer that has one or more employees working regularly at least 8 hours per week (104 hours per calendar quarter) within the City/County Limit of San Francisco. This is so, even if all of the employer's other workers are located outside of San Francisco "

"On September 9, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1867, which requires private employers that employ 500 or more employees in the United States to provide California employees with paid sick time for COVID-19-related absences. The Act also codifies Executive Order N-51-20, ... which provided supplemental paid sick leave to food sector workers.... The Act and its provisions become effective on September 19, 2020 and expire on December 31, 2020, or upon the expiration of any federal extension of the FFCRA, whichever is later."

"The new law applies to all private-sector employers in California, including businesses that employ 500 or more employees [which] were exempt from the paid leave requirements of the federal [FFCRA] ... [E]mployers operating in California that were large enough to escape federal paid leave requirements should act immediately to comply with California's new supplemental paid leave rules.... These supplemental leave requirements are set to become effective no later than Sept. 19, 2020."

"[T]he deadline for cannabis companies with more than 100 employees is September 30, 2020.... For cannabis employers with more than 50 employees, the deadline is June 30, 2021; for cannabis employers with five or more employees, June 30, 2022.... While cannabis remains illegal under the federal law of the Controlled Substances Act, under ... the Internal Revenue [and ERISA], cannabis companies can sponsor and/or participate in 401(k) plans."

"While the labor commissioner is empowered to adopt regulations and to issue guidance on the [New York State Sick Leave (NYSSL) law], no such guidance has been issued to date. Employers in New York City and Westchester County, both of which have their own sick leave laws, await further guidance as to how the NYSSL will interact with existing requirements."

"[T]he provisions are effective immediately, and require private businesses with 500 or more employees nationwide (as well as certain health care providers and emergency responders) to provide their California employees with COVID-19 related supplemental paid sick leave no later than September 19, 2020. The bill was intended to close the gaps between federally mandated paid COVID-19 related sick days and the Governor's previous Executive Order that only provided paid sick leave for food sector workers."

"[T]here is little time to get policies, practices, and -- don't forget -- payroll programs and paystubs into tip-top shape. Entities that were not covered previously, but were contending with one or more of the 10 similar local ordinances in California, will want to determine whether and how their pre-AB 1867 policies and practices hold up, and whether they might need to provide supplemental paid sick leave to workers under the new state law."